Page 57 - Food&Drink magazine July 2021

MEMBER NEWS
KHS PROCESSING CARDBOARD CAN TOPPERS
VISION BOOSTS THURNE’S COMPACT BACON SLICER Thurne-Middleby, represented in Australia by Linco, has boosted the capabilities of its IBS1000 Bacon Slicer with a Vision System, which enables processors to achieve enhanced first time on-weight percentages.
The system uses a high-speed camera and processing system that is able to adjust the thickness of each slice to significantly improve first time on-weights. The increase reduces rework rates and improves overall yield, due to having less giveaway.
“Thanks to the IBS1000’s new Vision System, low and medium volume bacon processors can now benefit on-weight percentages in excess of 90 per cent,” says Andrew Neal, sales director of Thurne.
A completely new control system, utilising the latest platforms from Allen Bradley, provides the processing power to support the IBS1000 Vision’s slicing accuracy, even at the highest blade speeds, and comes with enhanced on-board diagnostics and production data capture, all accessed via the new larger, easy-to-use controls. ■
KHS Group’s Innopack Kisters CNP processes can toppers made of cardboard at a rate of up to 108,000 cans per hour, which has enabled the turnkey supplier to establish a further sustainable form of secondary packaging on the market.
The CNP has been designed as a modular system that can be individually added to as and when required, which means that operators can switch to different cardboard materials or alter the pack size.
With it, KHS offers its customers smart, flexible plant technology that enables them to perfectly react to rapidly changing consumer demands.
“On the market we’re noticing that packaging variants are being established as alternatives to single-use plastic, especially in the beer and carbonated soft drink segments,” explains Soren Storbeck, global packaging product account manager at KHS.
KHS has found a strong partner for its sustainable packaging systems – the cardboard can toppers, available in both a closed and open version, are by Smurfit Kappa, one of the biggest manufacturers of cardboard in the world.
For the open topper, KHS found a solution that is independent of the blank manufacturer in order to offer maximum flexibility and freedom with customers’ packaging materials suppliers.
A range of freely
selectable options is
also available when
it comes to processing. Accordingly, the new cardboard packer can be used for both standard and sleek can formats holding between 250-580ml.
The alternative to classic plastic film or plastic rings also manages various sizes of multipack containing four, six or eight containers.
Adhesive is not used during processing as the pack is kept stable by the punched and folded cardboard topper.
As an option, the CNP can be equipped with a camera-controlled orientation module. KHS says that the great advantage here is that with the help of the module, cans can be individually and precisely positioned within the pack.
The option of individual can alignment makes the brand more visible to consumers, heightening the product’s presence at the point of sale. The cardboard topper also provides extra space for advertising messages.
“Optimising our systems and saving on materials and energy as a result have long been among our core activities. In the CNP, we offer the beverage industry yet another system that’s fit for the future,” Storbeck concludes. ■
FRESH FODDER TRIPLES PRODUCTIVITY
Fresh Fodder, boutique producer of hand-crafted dips, has tripled its productivity rates with the help of the Ilpra FS2500 Rotary Cup Filler, which is part of Jet Technologies’ packaging and lidding equipment range.
After Fresh Fodder experienced a major surge in demand due to Covid, along with receiving new business from over 400 Woolworths stores nationwide, the company was pushed to reconsider its technology investments to meet customer needs and maintain competitiveness within today’s fast-paced grocery market.
“As demand began to rapidly pick up, there soon came a point where our previous operational capabilities were outrun, which is where the investment in the FS2500 came into play as a crucial tool to increase our productivity and efficiency levels,” explains Max Schofield, managing director of Fresh Fodder (pictured here, on the right).
Fresh Fodder produces 15 tonnes of product per week across 12 different variants in both retail packs and food service bulk sizes, distributing nationwide to major supermarkets and independent grocers and delis.
“As a business, we are now seeing a huge 25 per cent growth year-on-year, so upgrading to this new solution allows us to optimise operations and keep up with our current and future growth,” Schofields adds.
The FS2500, from Italian packaging manufacturer Ilpra, is a mechanical rotary filling and sealing machine with eight stations, designed to fill dispensable plastic cups and containers with liquid and semi-solid products.
“With such an upheaval of the grocery market over the past year, we are glad that we could help Fresh Fodder streamline its operations to match unprecedented growth,” says Daniel Malki, director of Jet Technologies. ■
MACHINERY MATTERS JULY-AUGUST 2021 5